is a Japanese manga series by Clamp. It was first published in Shogakukan's manga magazine Monthly Sunday Gene-X from December 2004 to August 2005, under the title Kobato (kari). It was later serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype magazine from October 2006 to July 2011. Its chapters were collected in six volumes. The story features a mysterious young girl, Kobato Hanato, who works in a local kindergarten. In North America, the manga was first published by Newtype USA and later licensed by Yen Press. A 24-episode anime television series adaptation by Madhouse was broadcast from October 2009 to March 2010.
Story Kobato is a sweet, perky, cute yet naïve girl who has a contract: in order to be allowed to go to a certain place, she must fill a mysterious bottle with people's "healed hearts", but the condition is that she must do so before four seasons end. As Kobato attempts to fulfill her mission, she is accompanied by Ioryogi—a spirit in the form of a dog plushie. Because Ioryogi is the cause of a punishment imposed on him and his friends from the spirit world, he must guide Kobato and ensure that she succeeds in her mission; so that he and his friends might return to their true forms.
Characters
A strange and naive girl with a kind heart, never wanting to see someone suffer or get hurt, and a heartfelt, enthusiastic, and sincere wish to help people in need. However, she is frequently clumsy, clueless, and rash, often tripping on her own feet, much to Ioryogi's annoyance. Despite her role as the titular character, she is a bit of an enigma within the series, as her origins have yet to be explained. She seeks to heal the hearts of others, resulting in the filling up of a mysterious bottle called a "flask" with the suffering of those people's hearts so that someday she will be able to go to a certain place that she really wants to go. She seems to have no memories of her past. To achieve her goal, she works as an assistant alongside Kiyokazu at the Yomogi Nursery run by Sayaka Okiura. However, Kobato has been forbidden from falling in love with anyone she heals the heart of and curiously she is not allowed to take off her hat in public. It is eventually revealed that the hat conceals a spiritual crown upon her head which represents her impending death. Kobato struggles through the series with her feelings for Kiyokazu and comes to realizes that she is in love with him. Unfortunately, Kobato is forced to pick between two options - complete her wish and never be with Kiyokazu or stay with him, keeping Ioryogi and the others trapped in animal form. At the conclusion of the anime, it is revealed that Kobato died in the distant past. She exists in a liminal state where she is neither dead nor alive. In the end, when she finally fulfills her task to fill the flask, she is reborn without any memories of her past life until she meets Kiyokazu again few years later. In the manga, it is revealed that Kobato had died due to the war caused by Ioryogi and the gods. The angel that Ioryogi had fallen in love with felt pity for the girl who died before her time was up and transferred her soul into Kobato, being able to since they both have the same soul but belong to different worlds. The time limit Kobato has is the time before the angel disappears.
Kobato's companion, who appears as a stuffed toy dog that she carries around. He's actually very foul-mouthed, short-tempered, and cruel, his features twisting horrifically when aggravated or enraged. He tends to scathingly criticize or hit Kobato for her naïveté and stupidity and often calls her "Dobato" (lit. Stupid Dove). Despite the lack of respect he shows Kobato, he will always acknowledge her efforts when he feels she deserves it, and seems to be set on helping Kobato achieve her goal. He is harsh to her and scolds her constantly but is seen to really care for her and comforts her in his own way when she is down, such as patting her head to encourage her. His real name is , but has forced to respond to Ioryogi only because Kobato has been unable to pronounce his name correctly. Ioryogi was originally Tsubaki Nekoi's mascot, Iorogi, on Clamp's self caricatures. His origin is still unknown (in the anime he comes from the Spirit Realm), but he can produce a powerful fiery blast from his mouth when offended, like when he protected Kobato from the perverted old man in an early chapter of Kobato, though he also often uses it on Kobato whenever she messes up. It has been heavily implied that his stuffed animal appearance is not his true form. Ioryogi's true form has yet to be revealed but several 'shadows' of his original form have been seen. One being that of a sinister, large, wolf like creature with horns, which manifested during one of Ioryogi's sparring matches with Ginsei. Another form appears to be a man with spiky hair and a long, battered looking cape or coat, manifesting when he watched over a sleeping Kobato. It is implied that Ioryogi's current form is a 'punishment' from causing some sort of serious trouble back in 'Heaven'. In the anime, it is mentioned that his punishment was for attempting to start a war with Heaven. The exact reason is still not clear but Ioryogi started the war for love. Being from the other world royal family, he was rude and careless and skipped an important meeting where the three worlds were meeting. He met an angel sitting in a tree and helped her out when she fell. In return, she sang for him a song so sweet, he instantly fell in love. In the manga it is then revealed the angel's name was Suishou, also that Kobato and Ioryogi's angel share the same soul because they are the same person belonging to two different worlds. When Kobato died, Ioryogi's angel used her power to bring her back to life. However, as a result, the angel will not be able to reincarnate. Ioryogi begged God to help him bring back his angel and came to an agreement: if "Kobato" is able to fill her flask with wounded hearts, then Kobato and the angel can live. If not, he would lose them both forever.
A handsome, blunt and sarcastic young man working at the same kindergarten as Kobato. He is also Kobato's neighbor, living in the same complex under the ownership of Chitose. He has known Sayaka for many years and appears to care deeply for her, showing much concern over and being defensive of her. Upon first meeting Kobato, he is rather unkind and cold to her but eventually comes to accept her. He often shuts Kobato down but he also comes to respect her dedication and optimistic attitude. Kobato notes that he appears to be hiding some emotional pain of his own. He is named after Kiyokazu Fujimoto, the chief of the project department of Pyrotechnist, the company that works as Clamp's managing agent. As a child, Kiyokazu was an orphan taken in by Sayaka's father and did not get along with his peers. He had been studying to become a lawyer, but stopped going to his college classes when it became apparent Sayaka's need for help had become increasingly desperate. He works at various part-time jobs throughout the day in order to help support the kindergarten, as he is attached to Sayaka and feels indebted to her family for taking care of him in his youth. Near the end of the manga, he admits to Sayaka, "I always loved you." Sayaka remarks on his use of the past tense, and hugs him, telling him to go to "that girl" and "say the rest of it in the present tense." When Kobato is taken away by Ushagi, he cries, but his memories of Kobato immediately begin to disappear. He mutters, "I just lost something... something terribly precious." He is reunited with Kobato years later, when she is reborn and his memories of her return thanks to a wish that Ginsei makes to God. In contrast, at the conclusion of the anime series, he recovers his memories of her shortly after she disappears upon when her wish is fulfilled and is not reunited with her until an undisclosed period of time has passed. When Kobato regains her memories of him, Kiyokazu remarks, "You've kept me waiting so many years. You're late again," after which he embraces Kobato.
The teacher and principal of Yomogi Nursery, a local kindergarten where Kobato works. She has known Kiyokazu since he was seven, which is when her family adopted him. She also went to the same high school as Chitose. She is a kind and trusting person, willing to let Kobato assist her at the school even with Kiyokazu's obvious mistrust of her. Upon meeting Sayaka, Kobato wishes to heal the apparent emotional pain in her heart. Sayaka is in debt due to an event in the past involving her father; in spite of this she continues to try her best at keeping the school going. Sayaka was once married to Kazuto, the debt collector who frequently pesters her to close down the school. Despite having already divorced him, she and Kazuto still share the same surname - it is revealed that Kazuto took Sayaka's family name when they married to distance himself from his birth family.
The kind and generous landlady of Kobato's apartment and Sayaka's old classmate. She is married and has twin daughters, Chise and Chiho. Kiyokazu also lives in Chitose's apartment complex. She is a cross-over character from Chobits but not the same person, as the dimensional theorem of xxxHOLiC.
Mihara Chitose's twin daughters, presumably age 11-12. Like their mother, they are crossover characters from Chobits, known in that series as Freya and Chī/Elda. In Kobato, they are normal girls and live with their mother and father. Like many children in the series, they are apparently very fond of Kobato. In the anime, while the two had helped Kobato find an owner for an abandoned kitten, the two had begun to remember how lonely they were. Kobato sings a song to cheer them up, and their hearts are healed.
A debt collector who appears at the end of the fifth chapter, a man who has some association with yakuza. He is noted in the series for smiling a lot and smoking. Kazuto appears to be responsible for the constant impending closure of Sayaka's kindergarten and is also Sayaka's ex-husband. He seems to enjoy pestering and aggravating Kiyokazu, the latter whom despises him for hurting Sayaka in the past. He seems to have developed an interest in Kobato following his first meeting with her. Despite his cheerful and collected nature, he has shown hints of a slightly more sinister side, possibly due to his yakuza background. Kazuto seems to show what may or may not be some genuine concern for Sayaka, despite his continuous threats to close down the school. In the anime, it is revealed that he in fact loved and still loves Sayaka and acts as the bad guy to protect her, because if he does not, then his father, who was the actually culprit behind putting Sayaka's father in debt, would have used more forceful means to get the kindergarten. Kiyokazu later finds out and tells Sayaka, and asks her to make amends with him. In the end of series, he and Sayaka reconcile and he is shown to be helping out at the nursery.
A mysterious creature who wears an eyepatch whom shares a history with Ioryogi. His appearance seems to be a rabbit crossed with a wolf. He now appears to be on poor terms with him, and often challenges him to fights. Ginsei also has frequently stated that Ioryogi's current form is not his true form and also seems to be aware of Kobato's mission. He does not think highly of Kobato or Ioryogi's relationship with Kobato, though he gradually becomes more sympathetic towards her. It is implied that he wants Ioryogi to return to 'Heaven' for unknown reasons, as it was Ioryogi who took Ginsei in and trained him. In fact, it has been mentioned that Ioryogi was the one who gave Ginsei his name. Ginsei's appearance, like Ioryogi's, is implied to not be his actual form as when he stands atop a building overlooking Ioryogi and Kobato's apartment, his shadow is that of a young man with short hair. He is from the other world.